r/BirminghamUK

I made a help post here yesterday. Since I just arrived in Birmingham, I don't know anyone, have no social life or friends, plus some emotional setbacks and unfamiliarity with the language, I had to ask for help online. As a result, I received so many kind replies, advice, and DMs (I'm trying to reply to everyone one by one... there are just too many, so thank you all in advance for your kindness!). I love you all 🥹❤️ You guys are truly amazing, and I wish you all the happiness and success in everything!

Today I can share a bit more about my situation, but I won't say too much, because that would seem too much like spreading negative energy hahaha 🤣 I hope everyone can be a bit happier! Long story short, I grew up under the trauma of an East Asian family. My parents never really respected me as an individual. This includes, but is not limited to: throwing away all my books except textbooks, throwing away my diaries and anime merchandise, installing spyware on my phone to monitor who I chatted with, using my drawings to line the dog's kennel, wanting to prick me with needles just because I was chatting with classmates on Christmas, asking me why I hadn't died yet while looking at my self-harm scars in middle school, and smashing my phone just because I wanted to take a picture of the birthday gifts my friends gave me after my exam rank dropped by ten places. The humiliation and verbal abuse were countless... Of course, there were worse things I won't mention. I have no emotion when I bring these up now—it's all in the past. What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger 😉

And I am proud of my vitality. I wasn't defeated by reality. I treat my friends with great sincerity and kindness, and I empathize with their pain. I will never allow my parents' kind of evil to spread again. I also have a strong ability to fight back, and I believe I will only get better and better 😌 I believe the UK has a strong sense of humanistic care, and I hope I can enrich myself more here. Another purpose of coming here is to enrich my inner world and become even stronger 😉 And after seeing so many kind people replying to me yesterday, I knew I didn't choose the wrong place ❤️

I can also share my anime merchandise with everyone, as well as my reading essay on On the Heights of Despair by Cioran (I tried translating it with a translator, so there might be grammar mistakes hahaha, apologies in advance 🤣). Many people might find Cioran a bit pessimistic, but as an existentialist, I actually think his writing is full of vitality!

Let me introduce myself again. My English name is Isabel. I like watching anime, reading books, etc... By the way, I absolutely love Cillian Murphy ☺️ Also, I really love Voldemort from Harry Potter hahaha. I hope you guys don't think I'm evil! I just love how his younger self worked so hard for his goals. Likewise, I also really like Harry Potter himself—that determined and kind-hearted boy. These two are my favorite characters in the Harry Potter series 🤣 I want to ask if there are any daytime daily activities in Birmingham, since I don't drink and I'm not used to going out at night hahaha. For example, TTRPGs/Tabletop games? Or those little craft activities that girls do? (In China, we often play Perler/fuse beads). Or are there any good restaurant recommendations?

All in all, thank you to everyone who comments. I wish you all happiness every day～❤️

First of all, I want to thank everyone in advance who is willing to speak up and help me. I’m an international student from China, and I’ve been in Birmingham for half a month. I’ve experienced a lot of East Asian family trauma growing up, and I’ve also been through severe depression. But I still have a very strong will. One of the reasons I chose to study in Birmingham is that I wanted to escape my family’s control, find what I truly want, and become a better version of myself.

I think people here are very friendly. Even though I sometimes see posts saying the city isn’t safe at night, I don’t usually go out at night anyway, so it doesn’t bother me. At least so far, everyone I’ve met has been very nice, and I’m grateful for that.

But in the past two days, some things have really brought me down—related to relationships, and also the fact that I haven’t made many friends abroad. I’ve been trying to adjust on my own, but yesterday I was really sad. I said, screw it, so I decided to do something. I went to New Street Station at night and tried to find a homeless person to talk to, because I really had no friends to talk to. My good friends back in China can’t always be online because of the time difference.

I finally found one. He came up and asked if I could buy him a Starbucks. I said of course, no problem. I came here because my life is really a mess, and I hoped that at least I could help someone to make myself feel a bit better. So I gave him 50 pounds, talked a little, and he gave me a hug and said, “God bless you.” I really hope I helped him too.

At that point I was so numb. I thought if someone robbed me at knifepoint, it wouldn’t matter—I could just give them money. I was just in so much pain. But I won’t give up on everything.

The reason I’m posting this is to ask kind people: Are there any activities in Birmingham that can make people feel happy? Or some healing groups, like art exhibitions, or card games (I played Pokémon TCG in China, but my English isn’t that good now haha—I can only handle some daily conversation and still make grammar mistakes, so playing the English version is a bit hard). I want to socialize and make new friends 🥹

Thank you to everyone who gives me advice and suggestions. Thank you. I sincerely wish you all the best every day!

(I used a translator for the above, so I hope there aren’t too many grammar mistakes.)

Thank you all for your comments and help. I will reply to each of you later. Thank you for every bit of your kindness — all your advice is incredibly useful 🥹🫶🏻

I love watching anime and reading books. Some classics I’ve read include The Lady of the Camellias, Love in the Time of Cholera, At the Foot of the Mountain of Despair, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, The Narrow Gate, The Knot of Serpents and White Nights. My favourite authors are Kafka and Márquez. Recently I plan to read other full-length masterpieces by Dostoevsky.

I also adore the British brand Vivienne Westwood. I feel the UK is full of humanistic care, so I’m hoping to find out more about local literary events here.

Thank you, every single one of you!

‼️‼️Thank you all again for your replies! My replies might be a bit slow because I have so many DMs from people wanting to help me. Thank you 🥹🫶🏻 I will get back to everyone gradually. (By the way, I want to gently remind some men: if you are reaching out to me with those kinds of intentions, there’s really no need. I have never had sex, because I believe it is something that should be reserved for a partner in a committed relationship. My ex-boyfriends and I only ever limited ourselves to kissing, cuddling, and some other intimate acts—we never went all the way. Please respect me, thank you!)

Hi everyone,

I run a small Discord server for people in and around Worcestershire who are into gaming, chatting, and just generally meeting new people locally.

It’s a relaxed community whether you’re looking for people to play games with or just want a bit more of a social circle. We also run regular events, including weekly online and in-person game nights, so there’s usually something going on.

We’re also currently planning a 48-hour charity livestream event, which should be a fun way to bring everyone together and raise some money for a good cause.

If it sounds like your kind of thing, feel free to join here:
https://discord.gg/kpJ4aHDscA

Would be great to see some new faces 🙂

I had my haircut while I was abroad and my hairs getting really grown out. Hoping to get a cut close to these images.I’m looking for someone preferably with experience cutting alternative hair and lgbtq friendly(I’m trans).